ARTS, BRIEFLY; Brian Wilson's New Partner: George Gershwin

Compiled by Dave Itzkoff

Published: October 9, 2009

When Brian Wilson, below, sang that he ''just wasn't made for these times,'' apparently he wasn't just being wistful. For his next album, Mr. Wilson, the former front man of the Beach Boys, will be collaborating with a pop star who preceded him by a generation or three: George Gershwin. As part of a two-album deal with Walt Disney Records, Mr. Wilson will create new pieces of music based on unfinished Gershwin works, the record label said Thursday. The new compositions, which Disney said Mr. Wilson would ''Brian-ize with his trademark vocal stacks and unique arrangements,'' are to appear on an album that will also include Mr. Wilson's covers of other classic songs by George and Ira Gershwin. The estates of both Gershwin siblings have given their approval for the project, which a representative for Mr. Wilson said he would begin recording with his band on Oct. 18 and finish after Thanksgiving. In a statement, Mr. Wilson called the album ''the most spiritual project I've ever worked on.''